2 Years In Solitary For DWI: Stephen Slevin Wins $22M Settlement

A New Mexico man held in solitary confinement at a county prison for two years without a trial has won a $22 million suit for violations of his constitutional rights.

Stephen Slevin, 58, who was arrested in August 2005 and charged with driving while intoxicated, was allegedly thrown in a small padded cell in Dona Ana County until May 2007 -- without ever seeing a judge. This week, a jury in Santa Fe federal court awarded Slevin one of the largest federal civil rights settlements in history for illegal imprisonment, according to CNN.

'[Prison officials were] walking by me every day, watching me deteriorate," he told NBC-DFW. "Day after day after day, they did nothing, nothing at all, to get me any help."

He was finally released after 22 months when the charges against him were dropped.

An already mentally-ill Slevin told reporters that he suffered through inhumane conditions and lack of human contact or medical care at the facility. He even claims that he had to pull out his own tooth because he was denied access to a dentist, according to MSNBC.

Now Slevin suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and may have to take depression medication for the rest of his life. His lawsuit claims that he lost weight and suffered depression, bedsores, fungal problems and mental anguish during his confinement.

Details about why he was held for so long for a charge was never prosecuted -- and, 22 months later, dropped -- are still sketchy, as a county spokesman declined to comment while promising to appeal Slevin's award, according to Las Cruces Sun-News .

"There was a verdict against the county and we certainly plan to appeal it," county spokesman Jess Williams told the paper. "We feel we have a strong case, at multiple levels, to pursue the appeal."

Comments

[PrisonReformMvt]

10:00 AM on 02/25/2012

The county & state should have charges filed against them....they are the criminals here!

[mojo70]

12:15 AM on 02/01/2012

not minimizing what this man went through, but 22mil? hell, put me in solitary for 2 years and violate my rights for 22mil...seriously, there's no way that he'd make a fraction of that in 2 years of life or in his LIFETIME. he should think himself lucky!!!!

[PurrfectPeach]

10:04 AM on 02/25/2012

You can't put a price on mental health, or time. What if he's now to depressed to enjoy the money? What if he's diagnosed with cancer tomorrow and those were his last 2 healthy years?

[happyblackman]

07:31 PM on 01/31/2012

I will reference this case the next time I see a radical rightwingnut defend illegal detention, and says it does not happen to Americans.

[Nieschk]

10:57 AM on 01/31/2012

I’ll say they should appeal…. The award wasn’t large enough. Too bad that this man’s health will continue to decline while this appeal is tied up in the courts for years. Was there no one on the “outside” that could have tried to help him?

[Cynthia Marty Henry Pirl]

03:01 PM on 01/31/2012

What can be done from the outside? A good friend of a good friend has been in Dona Ana since last March with no trial date, no bail, etc. Supporters have spoken to attorneys, reporters, created a website (http://fastandfuriousjusticenow.org), and done everything short of kick and scream. Nothing seems to help. I want the name of this guy's attorney. I think he should consider a class action on behalf of ALL the guys in Dona Ana!

[the-lexicon]

10:11 PM on 01/30/2012

ON APPEAL, I would expect the damage award to be doubled.

[babybecks]

10:11 PM on 01/30/2012

Hope the judge gives him more than the actual award, for the county having the audacity to appeal it.

[RobD407]

12:32 PM on 01/30/2012

Isn't there any criminal charge for such severe civil rights violation? What about federal civil rights laws? It seems like somebody in their legal system should now be living in his old cell over this.

[bionic man]

04:48 PM on 01/30/2012

Absolutely agree. This is false imprisonment and a whole slew of other charges if it happend on the outside. There is a person in my area (Philadelphia) who will likely get life in prison for doing this sort of thing to a number of victims to cash in on their SS checks. Amazing how "they" can get away with this without any fear of LEGAL ramifications other than a stiff fine...and then have the audacity to appeal!

[skywalk]

05:58 PM on 01/30/2012

That's what I first thought and they want to appeal his settlement?

[slash77]

09:15 PM on 01/29/2012

If this story is actually true then it seems that that county’s entire police and judicial systems needs a federal investigation…..

What else or who else are they hiding? They don’t seem to have a grasp on the law…..

[Henry Avellaneda]

02:30 PM on 01/28/2012

This is the US not Rusia or China. This is unexcusable and the county can appeal all the want but have no justification for holding someone without trila in solitary confienement!!!! No even the war crimininal in Cuba!

[Paul Replogle]

09:04 PM on 01/28/2012

What war criminal in Cuba?

[The Mad Guesser]

11:48 PM on 01/28/2012

"This isn't Russia or China", but every country I ever been to also lists two countries they are not. Actually, CIA's revised its official list of 279 countries with the names of countries their government declares they are "not". America was listed in 210 of 279 country's "is not" list, but it went up to 251/279 after the New Hampshire debates, when the tragic products of the American educational system and gene pool was accounted for, which also explains why Americans became more opposed to eugenics when America curtailed its sterilization programs for the low I.Q. kids by the 1970's.

[The Dude67]

10:05 AM on 01/28/2012

What this guy suffered in 2007 is now perfectly legal thanks to Barack Obama.  All they would have to do is say (not present evidence - just make a statement) that they believe he is a terrorist.  

It's called "disappearing" and the Federal Government can do it, legally, to you or me or any US Citizen without judicial review or the presentation of evidence.  

If this doesn't bother you because you trust the government to use this authority responsibly you are woefully ignorant of our system of government or the purpose our Constitution serves.

[Political Avatar]

08:46 PM on 01/28/2012

This is not Barack Obamas fault he told the Congress not to pass that stupid law, that it ould hurt the country.

[The Dude67]

10:34 AM on 01/29/2012

Wrong. Initially he told Congress not to pass it because the way it was written curtailed his ability to arbitrarily determine if a suspect should be tried in military vs. criminal court. Philosophically, Obama is just fine with indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without due process. Congress made some tweaking of the language and he signed it.

[RobD407]

12:20 PM on 01/30/2012

"This is not Barack Obamas fault he told the Congress not to pass that stupid law"


Did he sign it into law?

[Exotic Madchen]

03:15 AM on 01/28/2012

awww. poor guy.

[mariglobal]

01:29 AM on 01/28/2012

What constituti­on, you don't have one anymore, haven't you heard?
the National Defense Authorizat­ion Act, which since being signed last month give the president permission to detain Americans without charge.

[Christopher Koulouris]

07:19 PM on 01/27/2012

Are we to assume Mr Slevin was an imminent threat to authorities? Was he a maladjusted prisoner? Or was he simply the victim of a capricious local jail that relished in punishing him and or others like him? Or worse was Mr Slevin a victim of a systematic attitude amongst authorities towards those who find themselves locked up? What then does this suggest about the way crime and punishment is applied? Or is this just a one off case whereby the criminal system would normally work hand in hand with the rights of those incarcerated?

http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2012/01/man-locked-in-solitary-confinement-for-2-years-on-a-dwi-charge-awarded-22-million/

[maybesomeday]

08:44 AM on 01/28/2012

I'm not sure we have the whole story but if someone is pulled over for a DWI he is considered innocent until he is given his day in court. At MOST he could have been locked up overnight to get sober not be held without any other charges pending his court date. There was no reason for him to be incarcerated even with a DWI conviction unless he killed someone or had to do a few days in jail. This is by far the worse case scenrio for civil rights violations and every single guard that passed his cell every day, probably laughing at him when he asked for help should be fired immediately. I know the laws for drinking and driving are becoming severe but this guy hadn't even been before a judge and every single guard knew that!!!!

[xenubarb]

04:22 PM on 01/27/2012

It would make them look really, really bad if they appeal. They should be apologizing profusely, lots of bowing and forelock tugging, followed by the traditional boot licking. They should give him a gift basket and a free trip to Disneyland.

If they dig in and try to defend this indefensible position, I hope the residents of New Mexico remember him come election day.

[maybesomeday]

08:48 AM on 01/28/2012

I couldn't agree with you more. For them to appeal a juries award amount shows the ignorance level of the guy who made that statement.
If anything besides what you said, they should all be hiding out hoping they don't get tarred and feathered by the locals. The should count their blessings that they aren't all locked up in a prison somewhere and not see a Judge for two years before they are even charged and convicted. F^F

[Jack in Columbia MD]

04:19 PM on 01/27/2012

Appealing the judgement is adding insult to injury.

[maybesomeday]

08:50 AM on 01/28/2012

It truly is. They should be lucky no criminal charges have been brought against them for what this guy went thrugh for 2 years. Appealing this and saying they have a strong case on appeal is laughable. And if it gets in front of a Judge or Jury again they should up the award amount.
Huge mistake, HUGE mistake to appeal this verdict and award amount. HUGE.

[songchannels]

09:56 AM on 01/28/2012

You're talking about sociopaths who caused this situation, they're inhumane and beyond repair. they have no conscience, empathy, nor remorse. If given power, as many already have, mankind will be doomed. The NDAA is a good example of the crimes that will follow against innocent people with opposing political views with the manufactuered status quo whom the President deems terroristic.